Higher GDP countries tend to have fewer young females relative to others.
Comparing Age population, age 12, female, interpolated with Gross Domestic Product — Value US$ across 181 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.62
- Holding size constant
- -0.59
- Countries compared
- 181
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
Wealthier nations may have lower birth rates or better data quality, reducing the interpolated female population at age 12. However, the reversal after controlling for GDP suggests population size or economic development masks the true relationship.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. Interpolated population data may introduce noise, and controlling for GDP could overcorrect by removing meaningful variation.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.